Emotionless
by Silver Dragon Princess
Summary: Wow. I think it's been over a year since I updated. I think this story is really improving, especially in the later chaps. Angst and drama, please review.
1. Emotionless

A/N: this'll probably just be a one-chapter short songfic… I've never really written drama or sad stuff before, I really hope it's good, and not too out of character… please review! And flame me, too, if you hate it… I need the criticism. Okay, here we go. Song credits go to Good Charlotte.

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Emotionless

Ron Weasley sat at his desk in his bedroom, sucking on a quill as he thought about what to write to his father. It was summer, the summer after his seventh year at Hogwarts. It should have been a great summer. Ron had friends, even a girlfriend. But everything was all different.

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Hey Dad, I'm writing to you 

Not to tell you that I still hate you

Just to ask you how you feel

And how we fell apart, how this fell apart

At the end of Ron's sixth year at Hogwarts, Mr. Arthur Weasley had unexpectedly packed up and left the people he loved and loved him, his family and wife. Some people said he'd cracked by being pulled in too many directions trying to make everything work for his family. No one knew of his whereabouts, word at the Ministry was that he'd given up magic and become a Muggle so that he wouldn't be found as easily. Ron sighed and let go of all his emotions into the letter he was writing…

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Are you happy out there in this great wide world?

Do you think about your sons?

Do you miss your little girl?

It was heartrending for Ron to hear the sobs of his sister and mother after Mr. Weasley had left without even a note. All the boys had come home, even Charlie from Romania, Bill from Egypt, and Percy almost quit his job as Minister of Magic. However, Percy was now supporting his family, along with the older Weasley boys. 

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When you lay your head down, how do you sleep at night?

Do you even wonder if we're alright?

We're alright, we're alright

The Weasley family was still surviving. They had their friends; they still had food on the table every night, although nothing was the same anymore. The house seemed emptier with so many people gone, Percy, Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George all had jobs and their own houses now, and Percy and Charlie were married. 

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It's been a long hard road without you by my side

Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?

You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life

It's not okay, but we're alright

I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes

But those are just a long lost memory of mine

I spent so many years learning how to survive

Now I'm writing to you just to let you know I'm still alive

Ron had been the oldest male left in the house when his dad left, although Fred and George still came to visit all the time, even though they lived on the top floor of their joke shop. Ron learned how to cook, clean, and do everything around the house with Ginny. Mrs. Weasley had wanted to go out and get a job, but her sons and daughter wouldn't let her. It was terrible to hear her crying alone at night.

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Those days I spent so cold, so hungry

Were full of hate, I was so angry

The scars run deep inside this tattooed body

There's things I'll take to my grave

But I'm okay, I'm okay…

Ron paused in his writing to run a callused finger over the tattoo he had on his right forearm. His mother had disapproved, but it was a tattoo he, Harry, and Hermione had gotten together several weeks after Ron's father had left. It was a lion with the word 'survivor' above it. Ron had been so angry, so rebellious after his father left… but he had to change, had to calm for his mother and sister.

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It's been a long hard road without you by my side

Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?

You broke my mother's heart you broke your children for life

It's not okay, but we're all right

I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes

But those are just a long lost memory of mine

Now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive 

It was hard for Ron to go through his last year of Hogwarts without a real father figure. He was rebellious and broke a lot of rules, but Albus Dumbledore had been a big help to get Ron to calm down so he could support his sister Ginny.

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And sometimes I'll forgive, yeah and this time I'll admit

That I miss you, said I miss you

It's been a long hard road without you by my side

Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?

You broke my mother's heart you broke your children for life

It's not okay, but we're alright

I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes

But those are just a long lost memory of mine

Now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive

Ron was embarrassed as a tear ran down his cheek and dripped onto the still wet ink. He knew that he missed his father, and remembered the days when his dad would tinker with all the Muggle things he had, and show Ron what exactly he was doing with everything. Ron sighed and picked up his quill for the last time, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears and he dunked his quill in the inkwell.

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And sometimes I forgive, yeah this time I'll admit

That I miss you, I miss you… hey Dad

Ron rolled up the parchment and tied it to the leg of his owl Pigwidgeon, confident that the little owl would be able to find his father. He watched Pig fly out the window, then whipped around as he heard his sister and quickly wiped his eyes and hoped they weren't too red.

"What are you doing, big brother?"

Big brother. Even though they weren't that far apart in age, Ron liked being his sister's protector.

"Nothing, Gin. Nothing."


	2. update info

Um. just a question. Would you guys like me to turn this into a story or make it longer or anything? Any suggestions on how I could improve it? Please review! By the way, I might not be able to make updates very often this week or the week after, I have swimming and a research paper that I'm supposed to be working on. (whoops.) 


	3. The Second Letter

A/N: I've gotten a lot of requests to continue with this story, so I'm going to try- if anybody's got ideas to make it better, tell me in a review! 

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Emotionless

Chapter 2

Ron stared hard at the letter he'd just gotten. He didn't want to open it, didn't want to get disappointed if it wasn't from who he wanted it to be from. It'd been several months after he'd written his father, and he'd practically given up hope. Ron looked up as Pig flapped around his room, then shook his head as to get rid of bad thoughts. He opened the letter and sighed.

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Hello Ron,

It's Hermione… are you feeling better at all lately? I know you wanted to get a letter from your father… I hope he's written you. How is the job hunt going for you? I heard from Harry that Puddlemere United wanted you two for starting positions on their Quidditch team. I always knew you would be asked to be on a great team, Ron, and I think you should take the chance. You're a great Keeper, and I think Oliver Wood is on Puddlemere's team as well, perhaps you two could teach each other some things. Oh, I got a job at the Ministry in the Department of Care of Magical Creatures, and my boss says I'm an excellent worker. Well, I need to get back to work soon, but please write me back, I miss you. 

Love, Hermione

Ron smiled for the first time that day as he read the letter from his girlfriend. After he finished it, he put it down and grabbed the slip of parchment with Puddlemere's request for him to join their team. Ron scribbled a few choice words quickly and re-rolled the parchment, giving it to Pig.

"Sorry for making you fly out again so soon," he said to his owl. Pigwidgeon hooted softly and nipped Ron's hand, then flew out the open window. 

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley called from downstairs. Ron poked his head out his door to see what she was on about. 

"Would you bring Ginny's trunk downstairs for her? School starts up again tomorrow and I don't want her to forget anything, since it's her last year," said Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny appeared out of her room dragging her large black trunk and a bag full of books. "Please, big brother?"

Ron smiled at his sister, picked up her trunk, and went downstairs, Ginny following close behind. He passed family pictures on the walls by the stairs and looked at his family, all waving excitedly in the pictures… including his father. Only Arthur Weasley wasn't really there anymore…

By the time Ron reached the kitchen, he was in a relatively bad mood again and angry with his father. He thunked the trunk down by the front door and then fell into a chair. When his sister and mother gave him odd looks, he pasted a fake smile on his face and said,

"I think I'll go out to practice a little Quidditch," and grabbed his broom. He didn't want to mention his father, or the letter, because he knew that Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were still trying to accept that he was really gone and he didn't want to upset them. As Ron walked out the door, he almost smashed into Fred and George.

"Little brother!" Fred said, ruffling his hair.

"Getting ready for some Quidditch?" asked George. "By the way, where's Mum?" 

"Inside," grumbled Ron. But he was happy at seeing his brothers; they hadn't been expected back from their 'business' trip in the United States until the next day. 

The twins maneuvered around Ron and into the house, leaving Ron alone to his thoughts once again. As he shuffled his feet and walked onto the field by the Weasley house that served as a Quidditch pitch, he was nearly bowled over by a large barn owl. The owl hooted loudly until Ron took the parchment from its clutches, then it flew off quickly. 

Ron's eyebrows went up in surprise as he looked at the familiar writing on the envelope. He fumbled with it, almost ripping apart the parchment inside.

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Hello son,

It's your father… I'm replying to the letter that you sent me a while ago. I'm glad you're doing fine and that your brothers and sister are doing fine. How is your mother doing? I'm doing all right, I want to tell you where I am but I can't because of the chance my letter might be intercepted. You see, Ron, I have some very important information and papers that You-Know-Who wants, and I have to hide. I left because I didn't want to put my children and wife in any kind of danger… hopefully I will be able to find a way to destroy the information and come back home. If you think your mother is ready to read this letter, give it to her… and ask her to write me. I miss you, son, and tell Ginny, Fred, George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, and your mother that I love them and miss them.

Dad

Ron's mouth was wide open in shock as he read the letter. He wiped his eyes quickly, not wanting anyone anywhere to realize that he was crying. Although the letter was slightly stiff and formal at the beginning, Ron was glad that his dad was all right…

"MUM!!!!!" he hollered, dropped his broom, and ran to the house.


	4. A Heavy Arsenal

A/N: Here I am with the next chapter… I need some ideas to make this story a little better, as I seem to be slightly stuck… if anyone wants to be my beta reader, just email or IM me!

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Chapter 3

Molly Weasley sat down hard in a chair at the kitchen table, clutching her husband's letter. Her three sons and her daughter sat with her, all looking sad. 

"He never told me that he was in danger," said Mrs. Weasley, welling up with tears. Ginny leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, crying softly.

"Well, what are we going to do?" George burst out. He looked angry. "If You-Know-Who is after Dad, what can we do about it? How can we find You-Know-Who?"

Ron, still in a slight state of shock, replied without emotion, "We could hunt him down." 

"NO!" screamed Mrs. Weasley, jolting Ginny off her shoulder. "I will NOT risk losing ANY of my sons OR my daughter! Put that thought out of all of your minds!"

"But Mum, Dad is in danger. We need to do something about it, maybe find out where he's hiding so we can help," said Fred.

"But how are we going to do that?" asked Ginny. "I have to go back to school tomorrow, Ron leaves to start training with Puddlemere the day after that, and then you two have your jobs to get back to!"

"I'll owl the Puddlemere coach and tell him I can't come," said Ron.

"No! Playing Quidditch for a famous team has been your dream for a long time, wasn't it? Dad wouldn't want you to give that up!" said George. As he completed his sentence, a snowy owl swooped in, and dropped a _Daily Prophet _on the Weasley kitchen table. It held out a foreleg with a pouch tied on it, and George pulled out a Knut from his pocket and dropped it in. With that, the owl flew out again.

The biggest headline on the front page read "**You-Know-Who Sighted In West Ireland! Aurors and Ministry Members Search for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in Hopes to Bring Him to Justice! War Expected to Break Out Between Wizarding World and You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, All Help Needed!**", and the next headline underneath it read "MISSING MINISTRY MEMBER ARTHUR WEASLEY SEEN IN IRELAND! IT IS BELIEVED THAT YOU-KNOW WHO IS AFTER HIM AND THE INFORMATION HE CARRIES! A SEARCH PARTY HAS BEEN SENT TO IRELAND!"

Everyone's jaws dropped. Ron, his voice hardened, said, "Well, there's our answer." He ran outside and picked up his broom, then came back inside. "I'm Apparating to Harry's, then I'm going to go get Hermione. They'll come with me. They'll help me find Dad. Fred, George, are you going to come?" His brothers, their faces devoid of emotion, grabbed their brooms from the corner where they'd left them. Ginny started to get up, but Ron stopped her, his voice softening. "No, Gin. You're going to stay here and take care of Mum until you leave for school in the morning. And when you get there, you're going to owl her as much as you can. All right?"

Ginny's eyes followed her brother sadly and she nodded in agreement. "I will."

"No! You boys can't leave me too…" Mrs. Weasley started to cry. 

"We have to, Mum. We have to go find Dad," Fred tried to comfort her. He went over to her and gave her a hug, and she kissed his forehead. Fred and Ron came over and did the same, then all three of them ran upstairs and quickly pulled on robes and grabbed knives that Ron had stashed in a drawer in case something ever happened. The three men came downstairs again, Ron scribbling a note on a slip of parchment.

"Here, Mum, mail this to the bloke at Puddlemere…" he said, then gave her another hug as she started to tear up again. Fred and George gave their mother a second hug, then the three hugged Ginny. Then they Apparated to Harry's flat in London.

"So is this the plan?" Harry asked Ron. "Ron, we can't just go rushing into this. Your only plan is to fly headlong into Ireland without even being prepared? No. Not going to work. Do you have any spells prepared? Do you even know what information your Dad is carrying that Voldemort wants so much?"

Ron growled at his best friend's logic as Hermione, who had just Apparated in with Fred (who had gone to get her), nodded. "We have our wands and knives," Ron said.

"That won't be enough. You have to have spells prepared, you have to have better weapons, as you seem to be going to completely destroy Voldemort. You know he'll be using Unforgivable Curses, you have to be ready for that, for all we know, we could all die," Harry stated quietly.

"And what do you have that could help us, then?" snapped George.

Harry's reply was walking into the opposite room, then reappearing, dragging a large chest. "My Dad was in the business. Apparently, he left this for me, in case we ever needed it…"

Upon opening the chest, Ron and his brothers found a large arsenal of swords, daggers, several crossbows, and quivers of crossbow bolts. There was also a very old book that was covered in dust, which Ron wiped off as he brought it out of the chest.

"Magius," he read off the cover. 

"The greatest war-wizard who ever lived," spoke up Hermione in awe, ever the know-it-all. "Dumbledore is said to descend from Magius. This must be his spellbook that he used to defeat the Chaos demons several thousand years ago… be careful in opening it! It might be booby-trapped!"

Ron, who had been in the process of opening the book, halted suddenly. He dropped the cover, then looked at the book as if it might explode.

"_En Pulsara Oni_," said Hermione from behind him, waving her wand at the book. "It should be safe now."

"Where did you learn that charm?" asked Fred incredulously. "How did you ever know you'd need to open up an ancient spellbook?"

"Professor Dumbledore," was all Hermione would say. "Now, if we can memorize some of these spells, we can take the book with us to Ireland and help out the Aurors."

"With these weapons and the spells from that book, I think you're going to be prepared," Harry told Ron. "And I'll be with you the whole way. We're gonna find your Dad and get rid of Voldemort."

"Me too," said Hermione. "I'm with you all the way." 

"Okay," said Fred, grabbing a hard leather tunic spelled to deflect steel. He took off his robes and put the tunic over the Muggle clothes he was wearing and laced up his boots tight. Strapping a sword to himself, he tucked his wand into his belt and took a crossbow and a quiver of bolts. Looking at everyone else, he said, "Well, let's go!" and everyone else equipped themselves adequately. 

"Now we're ready," said Hermione. Indeed they were. The five looked like they were ready for a fierce battle.

"I figured out where we should Apparate," said Ron. "I think the Aurors are at least going to meet in Dublin, because there's a large wizarding community there. We should Apparate to the Ministry office there and then we cane find out where to go."

"Sounds good," said Harry. The five clasped hands with hardened expressions. They all had their reasons for hating Voldemort, and they were ready to do anything to find Mr. Weasley and get rid of Voldemort, no matter what the cost.

"Get him or die trying," they all agreed, and Apparated together out of Harry's flat to Dublin.

A/N: Sorry… really cheesy end to that chapter. Please review, tell me how to make this better, and yeah. 


	5. The Spellbook of Magius

**Chapter Four**

A/N: I'm finally back. I hope this chapter doesn't suck. Although I'm not really a fan of Good Charlotte anymore, the song still works well with the fic. I'm trying to make up for all the time I've been gone. I'm also thinking of writing a new fic, a happier one, while also trying to figure out how I should continue "When Spells Go Bad." Oy. Somebody help me? An e-mail, perhaps? Also: I tried to separate Hermione's POV later in this chapter, but the format here won't let me. Please don't be confused.

Recap of the last chapter: Upon finding out where Arthur Weasley is and that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is hunting for him, Ron, George, Fred, Harry, and Hermione set out for Ireland to solve a mystery.

The five appeared with a pop in the Ministry of Magic Main Office, Dublin. A wizened old witch sitting behind a desk jumped as they appeared, then pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose and said, apparently taking no notice of their battle gear, "Looking for Albus Dumbledore, are ye, me dears? He's in the other room." She pointed vaguely to a blank wall.

"Er, other room?" asked Ron weakly. All he saw was a wall, completely void of anything.

"Oh." The old woman took out a vial from a drawer. Pinching a small bit of aqua-colored powder between her fingers, then placing it in the palm of her left hand, she whispered "Reveal," and blew the powder at the wall.

At first it looked like the powder would simply slip from between the woman's fingers, but it drifted lazily towards the wall. Upon impact- not with the wall, however, it seemed it had been Imperturbed- the air in front of the wall quivered and the image of the wall actually shook just like a dog would shake itself to rid its fur of water. The image shimmered and turned into an ornate oak doorway, and the man standing on the threshold did not look surprised to see the group before him.

"Ah. We were beginning to wonder when you would arrive," nodded the old, bespectacled man. His robes glittered as he beckoned them through the door to a large round table, where others were seated, and drew chairs for them.

"Sit," he commanded, blue eyes twinkling majestically, and took his place at the head of the table, flicking his long beard behind his shoulder. The other people sitting around the table, most of them Aurors, most in the Order of the Phoenix.

Ron, Harry, George, Fred, and Hermione sat in a row at one side of the table, laying their weapons down obediently, but all still looked extremely anxious and worried. George had developed a twitch, and Harry and Ron were twiddling their thumbs desperately. Fred was staring at the floor, and only Hermione still had the aura of sense about her. She pulled a large book out of her rucksack and placed it in front of the man at the head of the table.

The man's eyes, his orbs of violent blue, seemed to twinkle brighter. "Magius," he said. "My ancestor."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore. I was able to use the spell you taught me to rid it of traps, but I haven't had time to take a look at it," the bushy-haired girl replied.

"The famed spellbook of Magius?" a witch with bright green hair said incredulously. Nymphadora Tonks stood up from her chair, knocking it over in the process. "I thought it was gone forever. This could be the way! It really could!"

"Miss Granger, I need to give this book back to you. You need to read through parts of it quickly, while we still have time. Please look at the sections in the far back while I speak to the others," said Dumbledore. "Although you're young, we all agree you're extremely clever. You will be able to decipher this."

The rest of the adults nodded in agreement. A deep voice spoke up from the end of the table, saying, "Albus, get on with the instructions for the rest of us, please. We need to head to the Grey as soon as we can." Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded at Harry, who'd jolted upon hearing 'the Grey'.

He leaned over to whisper to Ron, George, and Fred, "I remember reading somewhere about the Grey and what's there. It's a great, mysterious, deep fog, and inside, at the heart, is said to be the most recent headquarters of the Death Eaters, but no one has been able to get in to investigate."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, and Harry quieted his whispering to look up at the wise man. "There is much to consider."

Dumbledore's voice softened to a low drone as Hermione was pulled into the book of the greatest war wizard who ever lived. Her eyes flew over spells, powerful spells, spells so old that they preceded the Unforgivables. Preceded the making of the Philosophers' Stone, if just by a little. The pages were yellowed and cracking despite the magic that kept it together, the magic that practically electrified the book in Hermione's hands. _There was magic in the book itself_. In the pages. It practically sang with the power. This was true magic. Nature magic. The magic of the ancients. Hermione read on.

"Voldemort is expecting us to come after him soon. He knows he is getting close to the information Arthur Weasley carries, and he will not stop until he finds him, extracts the information, and disposes of him and his family," said Dumbledore flatly. "After he does this, he'll use the information to rid the world of what doesn't suit him."

Practically everyone seated at the table gave an involuntary shudder. Ron bit his lip in anguish. "But Professor, what is it that my dad has that You-Kn- that Voldemort-"he hardened himself further as he said the name- "wants? And why are we waiting around here? We need to do something! Now!!!"

Fred and George leaned forward, eyes wide open; Harry pricked up his ears. A lanky Auror at the end of the table stopped his writing to listen.

Dumbledore sighed, and seemed to grow older for a moment. This passed quickly and he said, "Voldemort needs to gather his strength. He's attempting to corrupt as many people as possible and put them under the Imperius Curse. This will ensure a large army for him against what he believes I will cook up. But this takes time, and I think we will be able to catch him only slightly off guard, with perhaps only three-quarters of his Death Eaters. The rest will be off doing his bidding. If we go into the Grey soon, armed with the knowledge we have and what we know might happen, we might triumph."

Fred said impatiently, "But what does Voldemort need? And why does Dad have it?"

"Your father accidentally stumbled upon something when he was studying Muggles. We found a note he left in a spot that only Order members can find if they are given the key. I had the key, and I found what he had several days ago," said Mad-Eye Moody as his magical eye spun madly. "Arthur found a weapon that could be magically manipulated to seek and completely annihilate anything. Nothing can be protected from it. It's a weapon of evil so great that Voldemort had never even heard of it, never read of it, nothing. It doesn't even have a name. I don't even know much about it. But Arthur does, and that's why he's on the run."

Ron started in confusion, shaking his shaggy red hair out of his eyes and turning to Hermione quickly, who was buried in the spellbook, then turning his face back to Dumbledore. "A weapon? And Dad has it, or rather, information on it?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley. And Voldemort is determined to get this information," Dumbledore said.

_Defeating the Cold_, Hermione read. The pages tingled under her fingers. She read further.

_A great evil is prophesied to rise after the fall of many heroes. Not just any evil, but one determined to destroy the earth and all on it. This evil can be defeated, but only by the half-blood who has already been marked by the sign of the god Skyfire._

Hermione stopped short in her reading. Skyfire. Fire from the sky- lightning. A lightning mark... Harry. Well, of course. She already knew Voldemort would be defeated by Harry. But how Magius knew this so many years before...

_This marked one must use the combined power of three with his companions. The power of the sky, the marked one himself; the power of fire, the one crowned the color of a burning autumn; and the power of water, the stoic calm sea of knowledge. These three combined together with a pure love so strong and a trust and loyalty unwavering, will defeat the evil_. _Should they stand linked like the unbreakable chain they are, together believing that the evil can be defeated, it shall be so_.

Hermione was utterly shocked to the core of her being. She sat in her chair, ignoring what was going on around her. This prophecy was made so long ago. But she thought she knew what it meant. And she knew what she had to do. The war was about to begin, and she was jumping in headfirst.

_If these three shall think as one, the final war shall then be won. So mote it be_.

Hermione closed the crumbling tome with a bang.

A/N: Was that all right for coming back? Can I improve this somehow? Please review.


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